by From California to Europe, the fashion industry is gearing up for a wave of legislative changes aimed at promoting sustainability and ethical accountability.
WWD co-publication Sourcing Journal outlined some of the key laws in its recently released Sustainability Report, such as the America Act, landmark legislation that harnesses the economic potential of the Western Hemisphere.
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Introduced by Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Co., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., in March, the legislation seeks to facilitate funding and reform, expand free trade agreements and drive enforcement efforts against illegal goods made with forced labor . Most significantly for the fashion industry, however, the American Act has earmarked $14 billion in incentives to accelerate innovation in circular clothing, footwear, accessories and home textiles, including models that enable reuse, repair, rental and advanced recycling.
In California, lawmakers are exploring passing the California Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707), which would mandate producers of clothing and textile products to form and fund an Extended Producer Responsibility program that would be responsible for clothing and recycle the state’s worn fabrics. The state platform would consist of Producer Responsibility Organizations, managing the collection, sorting and recycling process.
Meanwhile, in Europe, one of the biggest and most controversial pieces of legislation is called the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, or CSDDD. This rule would require large businesses to identify, mitigate and remedy environmental and human rights violations in their supply chains.
However, CSDDD’s passage was extremely worrying. Despite the European Council and the European Parliament reaching an interim agreement in December, Germany, France and Italy threatened a last-minute maneuver to scrap the regulation entirely. Audience argument: The requirements would be financially, administratively and legally too burdensome for businesses.
The regulation had a strong impact on other parts of the supply chain. With the International Maritime Organization setting out an ambitious goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the top brass of major ocean carriers are feeling the heat to achieve that same goal. Mediterranean Shipping Company, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM and car shipping liner Wallenius Wilhelmsen have established their own net-zero commitments at or ahead of the 2050 target. Chief executive officers at each carrier have asked the regulatory agency for more establish strictness to accelerate the transition to green fuels.
Acting like one
While the legislation is one step towards a more transparent and sustainable future, the entire fashion industry needs to work together to enact meaningful change. And brands like Everlane and Dedicated are helping to lead the charge—despite generally much less promotion and conversation about sustainability initiatives on the brand side.
In 2023, for example, Everlane, a San Francisco-headquartered firm, reduced its carbon impact per product by 24 percent, resulting in a 38 percent reduction in absolute Scope 1-3 emissions compared to the 2019 baseline.
The steady downward trajectory – which has blocked emissions since 2020, which has been successful with industry-wide COVID-19 – was the result of a purposeful strategy to “get the biggest reductions in the fastest amount of time ,” especially with the Scope 3 emissions that comprise 99 percent. of Everlane’s total greenhouse gas footprint, according to Katina Boutis, director of sustainability at Everlane. This involved making “deliberate changes” to aspects of the supply chain under his direct control, including tinkering with different materials, snipping transport routes, co-locating raw materials and manufacturing operations and supporting quality design over product quantity.
Change is also happening more than 5,000 miles away in Sweden. What started in 2006 as Stockholm T-shirt Store has since changed to Dedicated: A Swedish brand committed to delivering ethical clothing that is still “fun and modern.”
“We want to show that you can have creative garments that are still timeless and sustainable. Even if you only work with cotton, you can produce a very cool trendy dress that is much more durable and has more details,” Margaux Schleder, head of corporate social responsibility at Dedicated, said in the report. “The creativity [element] it’s something we too need to try to emphasize more. I mean, we do a lot of work trying to communicate about sustainability work. But of course, we’re still selling clothes, right?”
Nonfashion companies are also taking responsibility, like Salesforce, which has called for government action on multiple initiatives at the intersection of sustainability and the development of artificial intelligence.
“Today, AI is more embedded in our daily lives and the way we work than ever before, and its impact will only grow from here. As we begin to understand the implications of this technology, we need to make sure we get it right from the start,” said Megan Lorenzen, director of climate and energy at Salesforce, in the report. “With a growing climate crisis , we are looking to enable a more sustainable and equitable future using AI — minimizing environmental impact and discovering climate innovation.”
Read the report to learn more about:
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How new legislation could lead to cost parity for green fuels as early as 2035
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Why the market for recycled textiles is poised for meteoric growth in the coming years
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How AI has affected the environment
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Whether H&M and Zara are driving deforestation in Brazil
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How Everlane reduced its total Scope 1-3 emissions by 38 percent in 2023
Download the report here.
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